China's largest volunteer group, the Chinese Young Volunteers Association (CYVA), on Friday received a 22 million yuan (US$3.23 million) donation, its largest ever.

The money came from the newly-founded Sinorgchem-Carlyle Group, an organization jointly set up by the Shanghai-based Sinorgchem and US private equity giant Carlyle Group.

Donating to China's young volunteer activities was of special meaning and had a much higher value as these youngsters would provide service to the society and help more needy people, said Liu Jing, Sinorgchem Group president. This could widely spread the volunteering spirit.

William E. Conway, a co-founder of the Carlyle Group, added the company hoped to be "a good corporate citizen." "The donation is carrying the aim of shouldering social responsibility and making contribution to the society."

He said it was not the company's first donation. "As America has natural disasters as well, for instance, hurricanes and earthquakes, we felt sad when hearing about the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. We immediately donated money in an anonymous way."

The current donation will be used in developing China's volunteer activities. These include the well-known programs "China Youth Volunteers Action" and the "Mother River Protection" project, according to the CYVA.

This year has been considered a "milestone" for China's volunteers because of their actions after the Sichuan quake on May 12. This showcased the awakening of citizens' social awareness.

Statistics show that more than 4.91 million volunteers joined the national quake relief battle, and more than 1 million volunteers would work at next month's Beijing Olympic Games. With a registered 25.11 million people, the group had offered 6.1 billion hours of volunteer service to the society.

The long-term development for China's volunteer activities depended on a mature social system. This combined government services and market services, said Lu Yongzheng, secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Youth League of China Central Committee.

An effective working and motivating system for volunteers, as well as a framework system managing social and economic assistance, were also important, he added.

"We hopes the US business circle, including the Carlyle Group, continuously keep their attention and support to the volunteer activities in China," Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, told Conway before the donation ceremony.

"Your efforts and support will help China's volunteering services become better and better."

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2008)